FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) – Kentucky’s drought situation worsened this week, with the latest U.S. Drought Monitor showing the state’s first “Extreme Drought” designation of the year.
Only 13.28% of the state is now free of drought, down from 15.42% last week. “Abnormally Dry” conditions (D0) cover just over 18% of the state — a sharp drop from 37.82% last week as many areas shifted to more severe drought levels.
Nearly half of Kentucky (47.46%) is now experiencing “Moderate Drought” (D1), up from 44.14% the previous week. “Severe Drought” (D2) has surged to 19.80%, more than seven times last week’s 2.61%.
For the first time since September 2024, “Extreme Drought” (D3) has appeared in Kentucky, affecting just under 1% of far southwestern counties, including all or parts of Calloway, Fulton, Graves and Hickman. No areas have yet reached “Exceptional Drought” (D4).
“Rapidly worsening impacts, persistent subnormal rainfall and increasingly poor 30- to 90-day SPI values warranted widespread degradations across the Ohio Valley,” said Adam Allgood of the National Weather Service. He added that low humidity and warm temperatures have kept evapotranspiration high, causing groundwater and streamflow levels to continue falling.
The forecast offers little relief, with only light rainfall expected in the Ohio Valley over the coming week and warmer temperatures likely to worsen conditions further.
The U.S. Drought Monitor is a joint effort by the National Drought Mitigation Center, USDA and NOAA, with reports released every Thursday covering the previous seven days through Tuesday morning.
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